Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith Part 3

Once you understand the balance of grace and faith, it takes the struggle out of receiving from G.o.d. How can you doubt that G.o.d will do what He's already done? If it's done by G.o.d's grace, then it's already done. Grace is not something that is going to happen. It's something that has already been done. Jesus already died for the sins of the whole world. He's already died to provide forgiveness of our sins, the healing of our bodies, and the deliverance from all these things. It's already done. If Jesus has already died for you and it's already done- "by whose stripes ye were [past tense] healed" (1 Peter 2:24)-how can you doubt that He will do what He's already done? This understanding takes all the struggle out of it.

Many people go to a meeting saying, "Oh G.o.d, I'm just believing that You're going to heal me. I know You're going to heal somebody, and I'm believing that You'll hear me. I'm believing for You to heal me." There's an element of doubt in those words. There is uncertainty and anxiety. If it hasn't already happened, then there's a possibility that it won't.

When you come to a meeting say, "Father, I thank You that I've already been healed. It's already been done. I know it's mine, and hallelujah, I'm receiving." There's a totally different att.i.tude in a person who is just trusting and relying upon what G.o.d has already done versus someone who is trying to get G.o.d to do something.

Really, the audacity of people to think that we can make G.o.d do things defies logic. Yet this is basically where religion is today. Religion is trying to force G.o.d in a myriad of ways. So we don't believe He'll do it for one, two, or ten people, then get a hundred million. "If we could get so many people praying at the exact same moment, that would put pressure on G.o.d and make Him move." Nonsense! That's not what these scriptures are teaching.

Quit Trying, Start Trusting We need to understand that G.o.d, by grace, has already done everything. And if He's done it, then it's just a matter of resting in what He's already done. It's just a matter of reaching out by faith to receive it. When you realize that by the stripes of Jesus you're already healed, then it's easy to say, "If I'm already healed, then that means in the spirit realm I already have this power on the inside of me. Instead of struggling, Lord, I'm just going to rest in what You've already done. It's a done deal."

You need to quit trying to get healed and start trusting that you've already been healed. There's a huge difference between the two.

When Jamie and I first started out in the ministry, we were so poor that we couldn't even pay attention. We really struggled financially, and it was my own fault. At times, Jamie and I would go weeks without eating much.

The Bible I was using to pastor my first church was one that I had taken with me through my days as a soldier in Vietnam. It was a mildewed mess! I had written all over in it and had taped nearly every page to keep it together. Entire books-not just chapters, but books- of the Bible were gone. They'd fallen out. Many times I would open my Bible and say, "Let's turn over to..." and the book I was looking for wasn't there. I'd just have to quote the pa.s.sage from memory. That's one reason I can quote so many scriptures. I had to remember pa.s.sages because I didn't even have a whole Bible.

Finally, I decided that I just had to believe G.o.d and start seeing some of these truths work somewhere in my life. I drew a line in the sand and declared, "This is it! I believe G.o.d for a new Bible." You might have a hard time relating to this but honestly, it took me six months to believe for an extra twenty dollars so that I could buy a Bible. You may think, Well, that's just a matter of priorities. You were using your money for other things. When Jamie and I were first married, our entire income for the first twelve months of our marriage was $1,253. We paid $100 a month rent plus utilities. I don't know how that works! Our second year's income jumped up to $2,500 over twelve months. So we made a total of $3,753 in twenty-four months. We were struggling, to say the least. When I say it took me six months to believe for twenty extra dollars for a Bible, know that I was putting a very high priority on it.

You've Already Got It During that period of time, I struggled. Satan was telling me, "You'll never get a new Bible. It will never work!" For me, I felt that our ministry was going to stand or fall based on whether or not I could believe G.o.d for this twenty extra dollars to go purchase a Bible. After six months, I finally had enough money so I went and bought a Bible. I had my name engraved on it. When I walked out of that bookstore with that Bible under my arm, instantly I quit doubting that I'd get it.

Prior to that time, there wasn't ten minutes during my waking hours that I didn't have some fear, anxiety, or thought of unbelief that my faith would not work. I continually thought, "You can't get it.

Some man of G.o.d you are. You can't even believe for a Bible!" I had to deal with such thoughts constantly. But as soon as I had that Bible in my hand, I quit doubting that I'd get it. You're probably thinking, Well of course! Why would you doubt that you're going to get it if you've already got it? That's my point exactly.

Are you sitting there saying with your mouth, "I'm healed," but then your next thought is, I'm going to die. I don't know if I'll ever get better. What will my funeral be like? Then you catch yourself and say, "No, in the name of Jesus." The reason you waver so in your faith and deal with all these thoughts is because you are thinking that G.o.d will respond to your faith and heal you. If only you could understand that G.o.d healed you before you ever became sick, before you were ever born, before you ever had a problem-G.o.d has already healed you. According to Ephesians 1:19-23, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead already dwells in you. You have raising-from-the-dead power at your disposal. Jesus gave you the authority to use this power to speak to this mountain and command it to be removed. Once you understand that G.o.d has already done it, how can you doubt that He'll do what He's already done?

If you're struggling and saying, "Well, I'm trying to believe, but I just don't know if I'll ever get healed," it's because you don't understand that faith just appropriates what G.o.d has already provided. You are still thinking that G.o.d is going to respond to you-that when you do everything correctly, including holding your mouth just right and confessing so many times, then G.o.d will release His power. You still think that G.o.d is responding to your faith. No, your faith is a response to G.o.d's grace. When you get those things mixed up, you'll always be frustrated.

Chapter 8, Already Provided.

I came out of the "faith movement," so I'm not against it. There were many great truths revealed to me through that teaching, and I'm still a "faith person" today. But many people didn't understand that faith just appropriates what G.o.d has already provided. They made faith into a work-something they did trying to force G.o.d to move- and so they became frustrated. There are thousands of faith people who aren't part of a local church today because they became frustrated. They did everything they knew and were taught to do. They pushed every b.u.t.ton, but G.o.d didn't come through. They feel like the Lord failed them because they did these things but G.o.d didn't respond the way they were told He would. This whole problem is eliminated when you understand that faith only appropriates what G.o.d has already provided.

You aren't trying to get G.o.d to do anything. It's not about G.o.d giving, it's all about you learning how to receive. Once you understand that, it makes the Christian life so simple. The reason you study the Word isn't so you can earn a star that you can then turn in, in exchange for an answer to prayer. It's not going to earn you any favor with G.o.d. You study the Word so you can learn what G.o.d has already done, what G.o.d has already provided. As you learn about your great salvation, faith just rises up on the inside and you start believing G.o.d. This is infinitely better in that it will give you peace in your relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d.

Even then, there will probably still be some things that you believe G.o.d has provided by grace that you aren't seeing come to pa.s.s in your life. When that happens, just keep renewing your mind to the Word. G.o.d's Word works, but renewing your mind is a process.

People come up to me and say, "I'm just angry at G.o.d because He failed to do this." I don't even relate to that. G.o.d has never failed to do anything. If anyone failed, it was me who failed to understand, appropriate, and receive. I had wrong att.i.tudes that hindered what G.o.d wanted to do. The Lord has never failed me. If anything, I've failed G.o.d, but He has never failed me.

Back in those poverty days I spoke of previously, it wasn't G.o.d who was failing to meet our needs. I failed to understand the Word concerning how to receive to have my needs met. I was under the impression that I would be sinning against G.o.d if I worked a secular job. I was called to the ministry and thought I had to get all my money from ministry, but eventually I learned better. I was hindering G.o.d's supply-which I wanted so desperately-by my failure to work.

Once you understand that G.o.d by grace has already done everything, you can get rid of this wrong att.i.tude. He's provided everything that you will ever need. If you understand these truths, they'll transform your life. G.o.d has already done His part. We aren't trying to get Him to do anything. You don't have to badger G.o.d and plead with Him.

Not a Comparison Many people have misunderstood what Jesus was communicating in Luke 11. After teaching on what's commonly called "The Lord's Prayer," He told a parable, saying: Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Luke11:58 This parable is often taught as saying that G.o.d is like this friend. When you come asking for what you need, He may respond with the equivalent of, "I'm in bed. My children are in bed. I'm already asleep. Don't bother Me!" So you just have to keep pet.i.tioning, badgering, and staying after Him. You have to give G.o.d no rest and make Him get up and give you what you want just to get rid of you. That's not what this pa.s.sage of scripture is teaching.

This parable is a contrast, not a comparison. I've used contrasts before many times. I remember one fellow I was ministering to who had just recently received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was bedridden with a life-threatening illness and didn't know for sure that G.o.d wanted to heal him. After sharing G.o.d's Word with him for quite a while, he still wasn't persuaded. Struggling to convince this man of the truth, I glanced over at his wife kneeling down right beside the bed and asked, "Do you think that your wife would want you to suffer through all of this pain you're going through, and then die?"

Friend?

He answered, "Oh, no. My wife loves me too much. If there was anything she could do to heal me, she'd do it."

"You've probably had arguments and fights with your wife at different times."

"Yeah, but there's nothing I've done that would ever cause her to want me to go through this suffering and pain, and just die."

Then I said, "And you think your wife-an imperfect human being-loves you more than Almighty G.o.d!"

That stopped his argument dead in its tracks. G.o.d is love. 1 John 4:8 G.o.d-who is perfect-loves you infinitely more than any imperfect physical person does. That's the point Jesus was trying to get across. He asked, "How many of you have a friend...?" He wasn't talking about just an acquaintance-somebody you know-but rather someone you would call a friend. If you had a need at midnight and you called a friend on the phone, saying, "My car broke down. Could you help me?" do you have a friend who would say, "I'm in bed. My kids are in bed. Who cares about you? Call somebody else!" Someone like that isn't a friend.

The Opposite Jesus was saying, "Do you know anyone, whom you consider a friend, who would treat you that rudely? Of course not! No friend would treat you that way. Then how do you expect G.o.d to be like that? Why do you think that you just have to badger Him?"

This true teaching of this pa.s.sage is actually opposite of the way it's traditionally been interpreted. This pa.s.sage is saying that if you expect that much mercy and kindness from a physical human being, then how much more should you expect G.o.d to answer your prayer without having to badger Him? It's making a contrast, and the context proves it. Jesus continued: I say unto you, Ask, and it shall he given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall he opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall he opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 11:9-13 In context, do you see what Jesus is trying to do? He asked the people, "How many of you would treat your children so badly that if they asked for a piece of bread you would give them a stone? If they asked for an egg, you'd give them a scorpion? How many of you would treat your children that way?" Hopefully, n.o.body! If you would treat your children this way, there are agencies here in America that will prosecute you. It's wrong to treat kids that way. Well then, if we who are corrupted, sinful, who do things for our own pleasure and self-benefit are better than this, how could we ever think that Almighty G.o.d is less compa.s.sionate than we are, that we, His children, would have to badger Him? We think that G.o.d won't respond to one person who asks for the power of G.o.d to be manifest, that we have to get a hundred million people together to manipulate, badger, and force Him into sending revival. There are some seriously wrong att.i.tudes in the body of Christ today. We need to understand the balance of grace and faith.

Confident and Consistent G.o.d, by grace, has antic.i.p.ated the needs of the entire human race as well as every one of us individually. He's met every need that you will ever have. Before you ever had the problem, G.o.d had already created the answer. He made the supply before you ever had the need.

G.o.d has already provided everything. There's nothing that will ever come into your life that will catch G.o.d by surprise. You don't have to go to Him, begging for help and saying, "Oh G.o.d, I don't know if You can pull this off." The Lord has already dealt with everything.

Everything is already provided, but that doesn't mean you'll experience that provision unless you have an appropriate response of faith. Instead of panicking and becoming fearful, you must learn to trust in what He's done, resting and saying, "Father, I don't care what the doctor says. I know what You've said, and I trust You. I believe that You've already provided everything I need." Once you get this att.i.tude and start living it, it creates in you such a sense of peace. You know that nothing will ever happen to you that G.o.d hadn't already antic.i.p.ated. The supply was there before the need is. You will have such confidence that you don't have to be afraid of what the devil throws at you. It doesn't matter because G.o.d has already provided. That's faith.

Faith gives you consistency. Are you an up and down kind of Christian? Are you up as long as everything is wonderful and then when tragedy hits, you go into the valley? While in the valley, do you get desperate and start seeking G.o.d, begging and pleading until He comes through and you're back up again? If that's you, you're a very carnal person. You aren't resting in G.o.d. You are just living according to what you observe in the physical, natural realm. You don't understand that G.o.d, by grace, has already provided everything. Understanding this truth gives you consistency. It allows you to be the same at all times because G.o.d is the same at all times. Even though my finances, health, joy, and other circ.u.mstances may fluctuate, G.o.d's supply is the same. I'm able to just be consistent. I'm not afraid of any bad news because I know that G.o.d has already met the needs. I don't have to do something to force G.o.d to respond. That's good news!

Very few Christians have this att.i.tude because very few understand that we're saved by grace through faith. They either emphasize grace to the point that they are just pa.s.sive, refusing to take their authority and letting the devil beat them up because they have misunderstood the sovereignty of G.o.d, or they so emphasize faith that they are forever fasting, badgering G.o.d, trying to twist His arm to force Him to do something. In a sense, they have become "G.o.d" themselves, and are taking responsibility for making everything happen. Either situation is very frustrating.

Directing Angels There are scriptures that talk about angels and how they work for us. (Matt.18:10; Heb. 1:14.) In light of these scriptures, some people teach that you have to tell your angels where to go and what to do. You must command them to protect you when you get on that plane, train, or bus. You must station an angel on every corner of your car to protect you. The Word states that the angels behold the face of G.o.d. They aren't listening to you.

But the devil is listening to what you're saying. If, in your attempt to station your angels, you confess, "If anybody is going to have a wreck, it'll be me," Satan will take advantage of those words and you'll have what you say. It's fine to declare, "I'm blessed, I'm protected, and angels are watching over me." That's fine, but keep in mind the angels are beholding the face of G.o.d. They aren't listening for your guidance.

You aren't sharp enough to tell your angels what to do. There are so many things that go on in our life that we don't even know are happening. Once we get to heaven, we'll find out that there were many times the devil tried to kill us and we didn't even know it because we were walking in joy and peace, believing and trusting G.o.d. G.o.d commanded the angels and the Lord protected us.

Angels are real and they protect us. There are angels right where you are, but G.o.d is the One who directs them and takes care of you. Many people think that they have to a.s.sign their angels and that their angels can't do anything without being told by them what to do. You make a very poor G.o.d. It would be much better to just trust G.o.d and let Him be the One to direct the angels. He can see what you can't see. The Lord can take care of things much, much better than what you ever could.

Real Effort These truths are the foundation for basic Christianity. You could consider them Christianity 101. They're as foundational as you can get. But if you lay hold of these truths, they will really make a positive difference in your life.

If you think G.o.d is controlling everything and causing all the tragedies, illnesses, and heartbreaks, then there is no way that you're ever going to resist these things lest you find yourself resisting G.o.d. If you think that the Lord is responding to you and you're the one making G.o.d move by your great faith, you're wrong. You can't bear that kind of responsibility. You simply aren't capable of doing that.

G.o.d loves you more than you love yourself. G.o.d loves your family more than you love them. He wants you to succeed even more than you want to succeed yourself. G.o.d, by grace, has provided everything that is necessary for you to accomplish what He wants you to do. It's already been done. Now you must simply rest and trust that G.o.d has already provided everything you need. That sounds easy, but the hardest thing you'll ever do is rest.

You must labor to enter into rest. (Heb. 4:11.) That sounds contradictory on the surface, but it's exactly the truth. The hardest thing you'll ever do is get to where you trust that G.o.d has already done everything instead of thinking that something still needs to be done. It's challenging to control your tongue, actions, and anxiety. This takes effort. You'll have to get into G.o.d's Word and start taking control of your thoughts with true knowledge instead of what the world has to say. This will take some real effort.

Paul said:

I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of G.o.d which was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 G.o.d, by grace, has provided everything. But it takes effort on our part to trust and rest in the truth that G.o.d has already done it.

Chapter 9, Believe and Receive.

We're saved by grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8.) Grace is what G.o.d does for us independent of us. His work has nothing to do with us or it wouldn't be grace. Therefore, you didn't earn it. You didn't merit it. G.o.d didn't respond to us. Rather, grace is something that is done by G.o.d before we ever have a problem. It's done independent of us- independent of anything we deserve.

That's a wonderful truth; however, some folks have taken this truth that G.o.d does things independent of us, not based on our worth or value, and they've gone to an extreme. They forget that it takes faith on our part to release the grace of G.o.d.

Other people forget that it's G.o.d who provides everything. They actually think that we, by our faith, can make G.o.d move. They think that we can manipulate and force the Lord to do things, which is equally wrong.

We aren't saved by faith alone. Neither are we saved by grace alone. Both of these are poison by themselves. They must be taken together properly. We're saved by grace through faith.

True Biblical Faith Everyone deals with the problem of understanding, "What is G.o.d's part, and what is my part? What does G.o.d do, and what must I do?" Probably one of the most common questions people ask me is, "What does G.o.d want me to do?" He wants you to understand, believe, and receive what He's already provided.

Faith isn't something you do, and then G.o.d responds to you. If you hold to this concept in any form or fas.h.i.+on, you think that G.o.d is looking at your Bible study, prayer, holiness, and goodness. You think that when you do enough, He'll release His power. If that's what you think, you aren't operating in true biblical faith. That thinking is legalistic and religious, and it's the reason that things aren't working in your life. Faith is not something you do to get G.o.d to do something. Faith is just your positive response to what G.o.d has already accomplished by grace. It's how you appropriate and receive what G.o.d has already provided.

G.o.d doesn't "move" when you believe Him. If you believe G.o.d for healing, He doesn't respond to you and heal you. First Peter 2:24 reveals that by His stripes, you were healed two thousand years ago.

...by [His] stripes ye were healed.

This is speaking of what happened in Herod's judgment hall. The Lord Jesus Christ, on His way to the cross, took those stripes on His back. (Matt. 27:26.) Jesus isn't healing people today. He healed people two thousand years ago. All of the power that it takes to heal every sickness, infirmity, and disease of the entire human race was generated two thousand years ago.

Raising-from-the-Dead Power The very instant you received the Lord and became born again, G.o.d placed that raising-from-the-dead power on the inside of you. (Eph. 1:19.) You don't need G.o.d to heal you. He has already done it. He's placed raising-from-the-dead power on the inside of you in your born-again spirit. You just need to understand what has already been provided by grace and learn how to release that provision out into your soul and body by faith.

When the Lord showed me this truth, it transformed my life. These aren't things that I've just studied and made a message out of. This is what G.o.d has done in my life. This is how I live. It's how I think. I haven't arrived and I'm not perfect, but I've seen some supernatural things happen, including seeing my own son raised up after being dead for five hours.

In a meeting my team and I ministered in one evening, a lady received healing for a lump in her breast. The lump dissolved instantly. She went and checked herself. It was gone. In another meeting earlier that day, we ministered to several people who had pain, some for fifteen to twenty years. The pain left, instantly. They were healed. We have seen people healed of back problems, sinus problems, and many other things. I'm not saying that I have it all figured out, but I know I'm moving in the right direction. I'm seeing results that are beyond human explanation.

My life was transformed when I quit trying to get G.o.d to do something and started believing what He had already done instead. I began putting faith in grace instead of faith in my ability to make G.o.d move. This is where many people are missing the mark.

Paradigm s.h.i.+ft When my eldest son was very young, he became sick with a certain illness on the same day in December every year. It didn't make any sense. I don't believe it was a physical problem, I believe it was a demonic attack. Just like clockwork, the same day every year he would get this same sickness.

After a few years of this, I began to antic.i.p.ate the surely coming sickness. When I recognized the symptoms coming on my son again, I started fasting and praying, rebuking and binding, and many other things. But Joshua kept getting worse and worse. I remember praying, "G.o.d, I know this isn't right. I know this isn't normal. People don't get the same sickness on the same day every year. This is just the devil. Why is it that we aren't seeing better results?"

What the Lord said in response really changed my life. He said, "The problem is, you aren't fighting because I have healed you, you're trying to get healed. You see yourself as the sick trying to get well instead of the well from whom Satan is trying to steal your health."

From that point on, I made a paradigm s.h.i.+ft and declared, "This is wrong. G.o.d has already healed us. By His stripes we were healed. He's already put this power on the inside of me and I'm acting like I'm the one who is fighting to obtain a victory. I already have the victory. I'm not fighting toward a victory. I'm coming from a victory. I have already been made more than a conqueror."

When you think that healing is over there and in the name of Jesus you are going to get there, you're in doubt. Even though this sounds positive, you're actually believing, "I'm not there." And if you're not there, then there is a possibility that you might not get there. But if you said, "I'm already healed. I refuse to let anybody take from me what G.o.d has already given me," how can you not get what you've already got? How can you not get there if you're already there?

Complete in Christ I no longer see myself as the sick person who is trying to get well. I am a well person. G.o.d placed His power on the inside of me, and I'm not trying to get G.o.d to move.

Once you understand this foundational truth, it'll change your whole perspective. You'll see that the Christian life isn't about getting G.o.d to do anything. It's about renewing your mind to the truth of G.o.d's Word and receiving the physical manifestation of what He's already done. However, most people view the Christian life as seven steps to get G.o.d to do this and three steps to make G.o.d do that. It's all about how to get G.o.d to do something, and how to make Him move.

If I were to come into most Pentecostal, Spirit-filled, Charismatic, or other churches of this type today preaching, "It's double-portion time. G.o.d is going to pour out twice as much of the Holy Spirit. Would you like more of G.o.d? Do you want G.o.d to do something new in your life?" I can get nearly 99 percent of the people to run forward because they are looking for something. They're looking for G.o.d to do something new and touch them. Technically, all of that is wrong. G.o.d has already done everything that He's going to do.

On the inside of every born-again believer is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The fullness of the G.o.dhead dwells in you bodily. (Col.1:27;2:9.) You don't need G.o.d to do anything. You don't need G.o.d to bless you. You don't need joy or peace. You are complete in Christ. (Col. 2:10.) Yet, you may still be struggling, thinking, Well, you don't know me. I'm depressed. That's because you're only looking on the outside. You're searching your emotions. Most of us don't understand what we have in our born-again spirit. In your spirit, you already have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Gal. 5:22-23.) Those aren't things that are "out there," and if you'll pray hard enough, study the Word, live holy, and do right, then G.o.d will give you love, joy, and peace. No, in your spirit, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, every day of your life, your born-again spirit is rejoicing and praising G.o.d. It has never been depressed. It is never discouraged. When you're depressed and saying, "Oh G.o.d, where are You? It feels like You just up and left," it's never your spirit voicing these things. That's only your flesh speaking because you are going by what you can see and feel. But there is a spiritual part of you that is seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. (Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:1.)

G.o.d Is Always On The truth is, if you're a born-again believer, you already have the same power on the inside of you that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. You have more than enough healing. You don't need G.o.d to heal you, you need to find out what He's already provided. Once you get this revelation, it'll change your entire mind-set. Instead of trying to get healed, you'll know G.o.d has healed you and you'll defend what G.o.d has already given you. You're not going to let the devil steal it from you. This makes all the difference in the world!

When the Lord revealed this truth to me, I had been fighting this sickness that, for years, attacked my son on the same day every year. I'd fight the sickness and eventually, I'd see him get healed. It looked like we were going to go through this thing again, but once the Lord showed me this truth, in ten minutes time the sickness was over and that was the end of that. Why? I was no longer trying to get my son healed. I knew he was already healed and there wasn't a devil big enough to steal from me what G.o.d had already given me. It's much easier to defend what you've already got than it is to try and get something that you don't have.

When people come up to me and ask, "Would you please pray that G.o.d would pour out His love in my life?" the spirit of slap just comes all over me. What they're implying is that G.o.d, for whatever reason, has shut off the flow of His love, peace, joy, or whatever. They think that the reason they don't feel love, peace, or joy is because G.o.d hasn't released it. That's never true!

Grace is independent of you, and it's consistent. That means it isn't based on you. It's not based on whether you've lived a holy life or done anything right or wrong. His grace is always the same. The grace of G.o.d never fluctuates or changes. The Lord never releases His power into your life, and then when you do something wrong, switches it off. Religion teaches that, but the truth is G.o.d is always on. He's always releasing His power.

Take Revival I'm definitely for revival, but the way most of the body of Christ seeks revival is wrong. The Lord isn't up in heaven with His arms folded, saying, "I'm not sending revival until more people pray longer and harder, until you get another 100,000 people together, until you beg, plead, and repent some more...." This implies that G.o.d controls revival and it's just up to Him to "send" it. This att.i.tude says that if G.o.d wanted us to, we could be having red-hot revival. All of our churches would be packed out and our entire nation would be turning to G.o.d. In essence it is saying that G.o.d is our problem. He's the One not sending revival.

It's not like that at all. G.o.d's arms aren't folded-they're wide open. He's trying to release His power through us. G.o.d wants us to be revived much more than we do. We don't need to plead with Him. We just need to start believing that He's already placed revival on the inside of us. We already have the same power that raised Christ from the dead, and we can do the same works that Jesus did. Just go out and raise a few people from the dead. You'll have all the revival you can handle!

We're praying, "Oh G.o.d, send revival," but He's saying, "You go take revival. I've already placed My power on the inside of you- release it!" Most of the Church is wondering why G.o.d hasn't moved, why He hasn't done something. G.o.d has already done everything. He moved through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that G.o.d will ever do for the whole human race has already been accomplished through the atonement. It's done. When Jesus said, "It is finished," it was finished. He accomplished it. It was done. You don't need G.o.d to save you or heal you. He's already saved and healed you. He's forgiven the sins of the whole world and provided healing. G.o.d's grace has already provided, the issue is: Will you believe and receive, or doubt and do without?

G.o.d, by grace, has already moved. He's already done everything He'll ever do. Through Christ's atonement, He's already provided everything we'll ever need. Now it's just up to us to appropriate- receive-it by faith.